More Reports, Rumors and Such

Free agency is still a week away, but we are inching closer. That means every day it feels like something else happens that will affect what the Eagles do.

As for Tuesday…

The Eagles wanted more cap space so they did some creative accounting with Lane Johnson. This kind of stuff happens every year so it’s nothing major. Still, this shows the team wants to be able to spend money.

Plenty of reporters and analysts have read the tea leaves and predict Howie Roseman will be aggressive. That said, he’s not going to just throw money around wildly. He won’t have that much space.

Roseman does need enough space to add veteran talent.

*****

No!!! I don’t want to live in a world where Chance Warmack isn’t stealing money from the Eagles.

*****

Let’s talk more about the Michael Bennett rumor.

This is a perfectly valid argument. So why would the Eagles consider trading a productive pass rusher?

Brandon Graham is 31. Chris Long will turn 34 in three weeks. Bennett is 34. The Eagles need some youth. If you trade Bennett, you can use a pick to add a young pass rusher to the mix.

Roseman wants to get comp picks in 2020 after losing some combination of Foles, Darby, Ajayi, Tate, Hicks, Jernigan, Wallace and/or Sproles. And Warmack of course.

In order to get comp picks, the Eagles can’t sign many free agents and can’t spend big on them. One possibility then is making trades to acquire veteran talent. I think that’s part of the reason you’re hearing Nelson Agholor and Bennett as being trade targets. The Eagles could deal them for other players who can help areas of need.

This isn’t a 100 percent set course of action. Rather, this is a way to look at all of your resources and then to decide the best way to use them. If you don’t get good offers, keep your players. If someone makes a good offer, pull the trigger.

Let’s remember that Roseman was able to use Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso to move up in the first round. That was a creative use of resources that helped to change the course of the franchise.

If you aren’t considering all the angles, you’re cheating yourself.

*****

Last March I listed Bynes as a target for the Eagles, if they lost Nigel Bradham. Obviously they kept Bradham around so Bynes wasn’t much of a target.

Bynes would make sense because he can play OLB or MLB. He also has good cover skills. He will turn 30 this summer, but could be a good short-term addition.

The Eagles have some young LB talent, but I don’t think you can count on Nate Gerry as a starter. B.J. Bello and Asantay Brown are way too raw right now. Veteran Paul Worrilow is coming off an ACL and is more of a role player.

Bynes would also make sense for another reason. Since he was cut, he would not count against the comp pick formula.

_